20 March 2023, Essaouira
Couer de Mogador R418.77 [DH233]

A lazy day doing as little as possible. We strolled the medina* streets, which are dedicated almost exclusively to selling accommodation, food, clothing, nick-nacks and art to a ravenous tourist industry.
We bumped into French cyclist, Erik, met in Souira Kedima, who reported that Gabriel was in bed popping anti-biotics.
We breakfasted on lentil soup and mint tea, at a rickety table outside a tiny kitchen. At this little "local", as at last night's more tourist-oriented and classy restaurant, when you order something not in stock, the proprietor rushes out to purchase it. In this morning's case, mint leaves; last night, each time a new guest arrived, the owner/manager, tasked with encouraging strollers-by to enter his restaurant, would either run out, or whistle for the bread seller to deliver another round of round flat breads. When Charl asked our breakfast host if he could smoke, the old man nodded, removing his toothbrush and paste from a small silver dish and handing this to Charl to use as an ashtray. The dish had ash in it!
*Essaouira's medina "was constructed during the late 18th century. The city was designed by the French architect Théodore Cornut to serve as a port for trade and as a stronghold against foreign invasion. Construction began in 1765, under the orders of Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah, and the city was completed in 1772. The medina of Essaouira is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is renowned for its unique blend of European and Moroccan architecture."